The present invention relates generally to an apparatus and methods for easing the discomfort associated with dental procedures, including the application of oral medicaments and dental materials. More particularly, the present invention relates to an apparatus and methods for the application of topical anesthetic to the alveolar mucosa to allow substantially painless injection of oral anesthetic.
A major reason people do not receive proper dental care is the fear and anxiety relating to the potential pain from dental treatment. One of the major sources of this fear and anxiety come from the pain associated with the injection of anesthetics. As a result, there has been created both a physical and a psychological barrier to some people receiving proper dental care.
The dental profession, as a result, is continuously looking for ways to reduce the pain associated with dental procedures. The principal procedure associated with discomfort is the injection of oral local anesthetic. One method colony used to reduce discomfort is the application of a topical anesthetic to the target tissue, prior to injection. This anesthetic is typically applied with cotton swabs and allowed to be in contact with the target tissue for an appropriate period of time. While this method has reduced the discomfort associated with treatment including anesthetic injections, because the topical anesthetic does not substantially penetrate the tissue substantial discomfort may remain.
Another method suggested for the reduction of discomfort is "freezing" the target tissue prior to injection. Two methods of "freezing" the target tissue have been suggested. First, it has been suggested that treatment of the target tissue with topical ice will substantially reduce the pain associated with injections. See, Harbert, Topical Ice: A Precursor to Palatal Injections, J. of Endodontics, Vol. 15 (No. 1), p. 27 (1989). This method is, however, very time consuming sometimes requiring more than ten minutes to complete an anesthetic injection. Second, it has been suggested that treatment of the target tissue with a cotton pellet saturated with dichlorodifluoromethane will effectively allow injection without pain. See, Duncan et al, Technique to diminish discomfort from the palatal injection, The J. of Prosthetic Dentistry, Vol. 67 (No. 6), p. 901 (1992). While effective in reducing the discomfort from the injection, this method can lead to post operative discomfort due to "burning" of the target tissue by the cold cotton pellet.
Other methods have also been developed to relieve the pain of anesthetic injection including lasers and TENS. Both of these methods require substantial investment in equipment and have shown only mixed results.
There remains a need for a simple, efficient and economical apparatus and method for reducing or eliminating the discomfort associated with oral anesthetic injections.
Another problem in modern dental practice is the filling of caries lesions or cavity preparations with paste-like materials. Dental practice has recently moved away from amalgams to paste-like restorative materials, including composite resins, glass ionomers and sealants. After placement, these are cured or polymerized with a special light. Several problems have been associated with the use of these paste-like material including: (1) the formation and incorporation of air bubbles in these materials; (2) the lack of penetration into the cavity preparation; and (3) the tendency of the paste-like materials to stick to the instruments used in placement of the material.
There remains a need for a simple efficient and economical apparatus and method for reducing or eliminating the air bubbles associated with these materials, facilitating penetration of the material into the cavity preparation, and making the material less likely to stick to the instrument.